The bench, consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, concluded that revealing the status report might compromise the investigation.
![[RG Kar Rape- Murder] 'We Find CBI's Report Disturbing', Asks For Financial Irregularities Report On RG Kar College: Supreme Court](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image-44-2.png?resize=820%2C461&ssl=1)
New Delhi: On Tuesday(17th Sept), the Supreme Court instructed the CBI to provide an update on their investigation into alleged financial misconduct at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, where a trainee doctor was raped and murdered last month.
The court reviewed the CBI’s report on the case and determined that releasing the details could hinder the ongoing investigation. The Supreme Court also decided to continue live streaming the proceedings of this suo motu case, emphasizing its significance for public interest and transparency.
The bench, consisting of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, concluded that revealing the status report might compromise the investigation.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, requested a halt to the live broadcasts, citing threats of acid attacks and rapes against women lawyers in the chamber. The Supreme Court assured Sibal that it would intervene if any threats to lawyers or others arose.
In response, the top court assured Sibal that it would intervene if any real threats were made against lawyers or anyone involved in the case, offering to take appropriate protective measures.
“There are threats to women in my chamber and then there are posts about me laughing. When did I laugh. It is being said that acid will be thrown at them and raped etc. People on the ground are saying this,”
-Sibal said.
“If there are any such threat to any man or woman, we will step in,”
-the Bench reassured.
Sibal said that the reputation built by lawyers over 50 years is being destroyed overnight.
“I have great concerns at what is happening.. When a matter is livestreamed like this which has emotive implications. We are not here for the accused. We appear for the State and as soon as the court is making a comment our reputation is getting destroyed over night. It is 50 years of reputation. In Swapnil Tripathi case, it was held such cases should not be livestreamed,”
-Sibal said.
Hence, he requested that live hearing of the matter should be halted but the Court refused to accede to that request.
“We will not stop the livestreaming. It is in public interest,”
-the CJI remarked.
“What the CBI has revealed in its investigation is very disturbing. We are ourselves very disturbed by what we have read.”
-SC bench led by CJI Chandrachud
The Solicitor General, representing the CBI, informed the court that Wikipedia still displayed the victim’s name and photo. The Supreme Court then instructed Wikipedia to remove this information.
To uphold the dignity and privacy of the deceased, the Court emphasized that the identity of victims in rape and murder cases should remain undisclosed. Wikipedia was directed to comply with this order.
The Supreme Court also stated that there is no evidence suggesting that the CBI has destroyed any material related to the crime, including the 27 minutes of CCTV footage. The West Bengal police confirmed to the Court that they have transferred all evidence, including CCTV footage, to the CBI.
The Court has requested the CBI to submit a status report on their investigation into alleged financial irregularities in medical departments.
The 31-year old doctor was raped and murdered at the Kolkata hospital on August 9. Her partially clothed body was found at the hospital’s seminar room the next morning.
The prime suspect, who has been arrested, is Sanjoy Roy, a civic volunteer with the Kolkata Police, who was stationed at the police outpost at the hospital and had access to all departments.
But the investigation had left too many questions unanswered including the various distorted versions told to the parents one of which was the claim that their daughter has died by suicide.
There were also allegations that the police had forced the cremation despite the parents’ unwillingness and one officer had even offered them money to bury the case.
There was the construction near the site of the crime, mob attack on the protesters at RG Kar hospital on the night of August 15 and the transfer of Sandip Ghosh to a top hospital hours after he submitted his resignation.
The courts questioned why the former principal had not file a complaint for a timely First Information Report, the lapses in postmortem report and the associated papers. The case was handed to the CBI, which first arrested Ghosh in connection with the parallel corruption case they are investigating and then for alleged evidence tampering.
FOLLOW US FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES ON YOUTUBE
